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Kirk’s staff and supporters were busily preparing for the last big push before Super Tuesday. Kirk’s campaign manager, Bobby Davis, was running the show. Davis, a moderate Democrat himself, had spent his entire career inside the beltway and had known Kirk for years. When Kirk offered him the job as campaign manager, he jumped on it with both feet. Davis’s views mirrored Kirk’s in every way and he, too, saw that the Bonsam administration was driving the country into the ground.
    Davis was in high spirits tonight. In four more days his boss could wipe out any chance of Bonsam getting the Party’s nomination. An incumbent president losing in the primaries would be an event of historic proportions, and the thought of that made Davis want to pop the champagne. He walked around the headquarters giving handshakes and words of thanks to his staff. One of his staff members whispered something in his ear, so he made his way back to his private office.
    Senator Kirk had been waiting for Davis in his office. As Davis walked in and saw Kirk sitting behind his desk, a big grin crossed his face. “A.K.!”
    Kirk rocked the desk chair and looked down at it on both sides and said, “Mighty comfy chair you got here, Bobby.” Both men laughed as Kirk got out of the chair and came out from behind the desk. They shook hands firmly and stepped back to look at each other, both filled with enthusiasm.
    Davis said, “Come on A.K., let’s go out and greet the staff. They would be thrilled to see you tonight.”
    “Not now, Bobby, I have something I want to talk to you about.” Kirk’s demeanor became serious. “About Bonsam.” Kirk slowly walked behind the desk and sat back down.
    Davis immediately knew where this was going. Kirk was a down-to-earth man and a straightforward politician. He was a man of honorable character who treated his friends and foes alike with respect, but Davis knew that Kirk was extremely suspicious of President Bonsam and didn’t trust him a bit. Kirk had always said that he felt an indescribable eerie vibe every time he was near the president.  
    “One last time, Bobby. Tell me what you think is going on in Bonsam’s mind right now. You know he isn’t just sitting in the White House ignoring the polls, yet he acts like he has the nomination in the bag. What do you think he is up to?”  
    “I don’t know, A.K.,” replied Davis. “He has always been notoriously sly and devious in his campaigns. Since he first ran for public office in Illinois he has found ways to ruin his opponents. And if he couldn’t ruin his opponents he would play the race card and he would deal it from the bottom of the deck. Think of all the times in the last three years that he has done that. Each time he did he put his political opponents on the defensive and directed attention away from his own crooked machinations.”
    Kirk sat in silence as Davis’s words sunk in. Finally he said, “There is no way Bonsam can attack my record when it comes to introducing legislation that supports minorities. There has to be something else. But what?”  
    “I wish I knew, A.K.”
    The two men looked at each other, not knowing what to say next. Davis took a seat in a plush office chair facing the desk, and waited for Kirk to speak. He could sense that Kirk had something to say but was having difficulty saying it. He gave Kirk all the time he needed to collect his thoughts.   Minutes later Kirk asked, “Do you really believe the ‘urban legends’ about Bonsam?”  
    “A.K., you know I do,” said Davis.
    Kirk stood up and began rubbing his clasped hands together. “I just cannot fathom the thought that Bonsam, the leader of the free world, has his whacko disciples secretly placed in every corner of the government, willing to do his evil bidding. Yet, for Pete’s sake Bobby, the thought of it keeps me awake at night,” said Kirk.
      “A.K., the rumors have been floating around Washington since the day Bonsam took office,”